News and Alerts

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Peer Specialist Services Are a Finalist for the Scattergood Innovation Award

Please vote to make the work of peer specialists the winner of the first ever Scattergood Foundation Innovation Award. We are excited to report that our innovation, “Certified Peer Specialist Services and the Peer Empowerment Programs of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania,” has been selected as one of the five finalists for this award out of a field of 61 applicants. You can vote from now until March 18, 2013. A vote for our innovation is a chance for peer specialists to shine, and to add to the expanding evidence base for this growing profession. Voting is easy: just click on this link: http://scattergoodfoundation.org/innovideas/mental-health-association-southeastern-pennsylvania and scroll down until you see Vote for This Innovation. Click on one of the circles and add your name and your email address. If you can’t read the letters or numbers that you need to reproduce in order to vote, click on the first little blue icon (above the speaker and question mark icons) until you see letters that you can copy. Then press Submit. We hope that you will show your support for peer specialists and for the peer-to-peer programs of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania by voting for us on the Scattergood website. Questions? Please contact Joseph Rogers at jrogers@mhasp.org or 267-507-3844.

Peer Stigma Experts Sought for National Online Research Project

The Center for Dignity, Recovery and Stigma Elimination is seeking 25 individuals with psychiatric histories “who have led or coordinated a consumer/run stigma change program, OR who have experience delivering in-person presentations that challenge mental illness stigma, to participate in an online survey about stigma reduction programs. Survey participants will be asked to review an evaluation instrument called the California Quality Improvement - Fidelity, Assessment & Implementation Ratings (CQI-FAIR) for its potential impact on public stigma, self-stigma and label-avoidance. Participants also will complete questionnaires about social attitudes regarding mental health.” The first 25 people who complete the approximately 20-minute survey will receive a $20 Amazon.com gift card. (The survey will close after 100 people participate and there have already been 75 respondents.) For questions, email either Patrick Michaels (pjmichaels@gmail.com) or Richard Krzyzanowski (Richard@mentalhealthsf.org). The survey is available at the following link: https://iitpsych.us2.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8G5OFSMrPs0X3ZW

With a deadline of February 28, 2013, researchers at Columbia University are seeking respondents for a survey “to help us identify the goals and outcomes that are most important to people who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder,” said the principal investigator, Dr. Scott Stroup. “We will use the results to help focus future research.” If you qualify and would like to help, click on this link for the survey: https://cumc.us2.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_2nvW37aPh8AHR2t. Any information you provide will be anonymous. Questions? Contact Dr. Stroup: 212-543-5676 or stroups@nyspi.columbia.edu. The New York State Psychiatric Institute-Columbia University Department of Psychiatry Institutional Review Board has approved recruitment of participants. For questions about your rights as a research subject, contact the IRB administrative director at 212-543-5758.

In 2012, the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness (ABHW) – the national voice for behavioral health managed care organizations – conducted a survey of its members regarding the nature of the peer support services they provide as well as “existing challenges, future opportunities and possible strategies for expanding and deepening the ability of behavioral health care organizations to provide peer support services as part of a comprehensive approach to whole health and wellness.” Among the findings are that “Peer Support Services are an effective component of behavioral health treatment and have a positive impact on consumers, purchasers and payers.” The report – “Peer Support Services: A Valuable Component of Behavioral Healthcare” – can be downloaded for free at the source below.

Webinar on Supporting the Recovery of Justice-Involved Consumers to Be Held on March 6

The Star Center is presenting “a three-part resource that will help individuals assist justice-involved consumers as they re-enter communities and begin their recovery journeys. Register online [at the source below] for the March 6th webinar. After registering you will receive a confirmation email with additional information on how to tune in to the webinar. For further information about the webinar please call (866) 537-STAR.”

BRSS TACS Offers Training and Technical Assistance Opportunities

“The Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy (BRSS TACS) Team can assist you in your work through FREE training opportunities, telephone consultations, email resources, peer learning, webcasts, distance learning, and knowledge products. The BRSS TACS Team is a consortium, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), dedicated to promoting widescale adoption of recovery-oriented supports, services, and systems for people in recovery from substance use and/or mental health conditions. You may access the TA Request Form here and reach the BRSS TACS Team at brsstacs@center4si.com.” Or telephone Tarah Johnson at 617-467-6014.

Café TA Center Offers Publications on Supported Education and on Disclosure in the Workplace, Respectively

The Café TA Center has published a new white paper on supported education, as well as the latest issue of its monthly Focus newsletter, which covers “Disclosure in the Workplace.” “What Does Supported Education Look Like” provides some examples of various supported education programs to help potential students choose a college or university. It is available at the following link: http://cafetacenter.net/2013/02/what-does-supported-education-look-like/. “Disclosure in the Workplace” gives some guidance on how and what to reveal about a mental health condition in a professional environment, and covers the Americans with Disabilities Act and the pros and cons of full disclosure. It is available at the following link: http://cafetacenter.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Focus-22.pdf

Report Finds No Relationship Between Gun Violence and the Availability of Psychiatric Hospital Beds

A new analysis by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has found “no meaningful correlations between the availability of psychiatric hospital beds and either murders involving firearms or incarceration rates.” The researchers used data from the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and NAMI in order to consider the logic of public policy arguments in favor of increasing the number of psychiatric beds in order to prevent gun violence. “If expanding the number of psychiatric beds is a meaningful remedy to firearm related murders in this country, one would expect a clear inverse relationship, showing that states with low per capita numbers of psychiatric hospital beds have higher rates of firearm-related homicides or higher rates of incarceration. Correlations among these factors were found to be strikingly low and not statistically significant,” the researchers found. The report is available for free at the following linkhttp://www.bazelon.org/portals/0/Archives/Statements%20&%20Releases/Relationship%20Between%20Psychiatric%20Hospital%20Beds%20and%20Firearm%20Murder1.15.13.pdf.

SAMHSA Seeks Nominations for 2013 Voice Awards

Nominations are being accepted for the Voice Awards, offered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: “If you know a consumer/peer leader who has led efforts to promote the social inclusion of people with behavioral health problems; personally demonstrated that recovery is real and possible; and made a positive impact on his/her community, workplace, or school, please nominate him/her for a 2013 Voice Award.” The nomination form is available at this link: http://www.samhsa.gov/voiceawards/; the deadline is March 15, 2013. (Additionally, you can nominate a TV or film production that contains “a dignified, respectful, and accurate portrayal of people with mental health and/or substance use disorders” at the following link: http://www.samhsa.gov/voiceawards/nominate_productions.asp.)

Temple University Conducts Survey to Develop Weight Loss Program

Temple University (TU) invites participation in a 10-minute survey that seeks input about the resources and services that would help individuals with psychiatric diagnoses achieve their weight loss goals. The deadline is March 8, 2013. The information gathered will be used to develop a weight loss program for individuals with mental health conditions who want to “develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle,” according to TU. “The survey will ask questions about personal health, nutrition, physical activity, goal setting, and preferences in technology and weight loss programs. Responses to the survey are completely anonymous and participants may choose to skip any question they do not wish to answer or stop the survey at any time.” For questions, contact Dr. Gretchen Snethen, 215-707-3390 or gsnethen@temple.edu. A link to the survey is available at the source below.

Save the Date for the 2014 International Conference on Families with Parental Mental Health Challenges

The Fourth International Conference on Families with Parental Mental Health Challenges will be held April 25-27, 2014, on the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley, Calif. The conference will explore “the impact of parental psychiatric disability on children; evidence-based solutions for parents, children and families; interactions with the child welfare system; the legislative/legal barriers parents confront in maintaining custody of their children; the development and application of services for parents and children including effective tools that support families; strategies for building trust and reducing stigma while supporting and educating parents and their children; information on how psychiatric disabilities are experienced by parents and both their young and adult children; and the recovery path – a deeply personal, unique process of changing one’s attitudes, values, feelings, goals, skills and/or roles.” Updates, including the call for abstracts, will be posted on the conference website at the source below.

OptumHealth has posted a DVD entitled “From Despair to Hope: Recovery Is the Key,” along with more than 80 individual videos about recovery that were part of a 2012 project by the managed care organization. “These videos when viewed by individuals new to recovery offer hope that things can be different and that they too can see the light to the path of recovery,” writes Peter Ashenden, director of consumer affairs at Optum Behavioral Solutions. The DVD and individual videos are available for free download at the source below

SAMHSA and the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center Have Created a New Campaign to Help People Stop Smoking

Adults with mental health conditions have a smoking rate 70 percent higher than adults who do not have mental health conditions, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with SAMHSA. The report found that 36 percent of adults with a mental health condition are cigarette smokers, compared with only 21 percent of adults who do not have a mental health condition. To address this problem, SAMHSA, in partnership with the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center (SCLC), has developed a portfolio of activities designed to promote tobacco cessation efforts in behavioral health care, according to a recent press release. For more information, see the source below. For quitting assistance, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or visit www.smokefree.gov. Also, visit www.BeTobaccoFree.gov for information on quitting and preventing children from using tobacco.

You Are Invited to a Monthly National Networking Teleconference!

The National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse invites you to participate in our monthly national networking teleconferences. The next teleconference is this Monday, February 25, at 1 p.m. ET. The calls usually take place the third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, noon Central Time, 11 a.m. Mountain Time, and 10 a.m. Pacific Time. However, if the third Monday is a national holiday – such as is the case in February – the call takes place on the fourth Monday. The call-in number is 866-906-0123; the pass code is 5037195#. The purpose of the call is for peer movement activists from around the U.S. to get together, share information, and “network.” Join us! The next call will take place on Monday, February 25, 2013, at 1 p.m. ET, noon CT, 11 a.m. MT, 10 a.m. PT. If you have a topic or topics you would like to see discussed on this call, please write to Susan Rogers srogers@mhasp.orgwith the word “Agenda” in the subject line.

Do You Operate, or Know of, a Warm Line?

The National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse is assembling a list of warm lines around the country. If you operate or know of a warm line, please share this information with us by emailing info@mhselfhelp.org or calling 800-553-4539.

Consumer-Driven Services Directory

The Clearinghouse welcomes all programs in which consumers play a significant role in leadership and operation to apply for inclusion in its Directory of Consumer-Driven Services. The directory, accessible at http://www.cdsdirectory.org/, is searchable by location, type of organization, and targeted clientele, and serves as a free resource for consumers, program administrators and researchers. Apply online at http://www.cdsdirectory.org/, via fax at 215-636-6312, or by phone at 800-553-4KEY (4539). To receive an application by mail, write to info@cdsdirectory.org or NMHCSH Clearinghouse, 1211 Chestnut Street, Suite 1100, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

About The Key Update

The Key Update is the free monthly e-newsletter of the National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse Volume 9 No.8, February 2013, http://www.mhselfhelp.org

Disclaimer

The views, opinions, and content of this website and everything posted on this website do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse is funded in part by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.